6-23-07    After the football season was over during my Senior year in High School  (1977) I  moved to one of the regular P.E. classes, it was third period. Being in the Best Shape of my Life ("1" on the Shape-O-Meter ), I was able to rule the court/field. It was almost like cheating. All the athletes had 6th period P.E. so I was in there with the pot smokers, long hairs, motocrossers and bookworms. Non of which were any good at stick and ball sports. I had a work release program for 5th and 6th periods. I got a job down the street from the school at a place called Downey Glass and Shower Door . Basically I was the clean up guy. I would sweep and pick up all the broken glass for four hours a day, Monday thru Friday. As time went on they used me to do maintenance on the delivery trucks, build shelves etc. I was a temporary employee and no one really talked to me much. It was almost like I was invisible. Somehow the glass picked it's self up. I mostly worked around these two guys, Mike & Dave. They were in their late 20's, seemed old at the time but still pretty cool. I mean they listened to KMET (a little bit of heaven, 94.7) ,the best rock station in L.A. at the time. There was also this guy named Gus that was in his fifties. Gus was a fabricator and built the aluminum frames for the glass. Mike and Dave, the two guys in their late twenties were both "Glaziers" AKA glass cutters. They used water to lubricate the glass or mirrors when they cut holes for door knobs, electric outlets or whatever needed a hole. Being a bit of a prankster I decided to bring some yellow food coloring to work. During my sweeping duties I would place a couple of drops of food coloring in the water jug (1/2 gallon ish) when the glaziers weren't looking and then go about my duties before I got caught. I did this everyday for a couple of weeks. I never heard a word about it but just kept on doing it. The Glaziers and Gus all used Gus' electric coffee pot to heat water for tea and soup. So after a few weeks of coloring the jug of water yellow, I decided to color the water in the coffee pot yellow too. I would do it when I was supposed to be somewhere else working or when the glaziers were out of the room so I wouldn't be suspected of coloring the water. This went on for a few months. Still I never heard a word about it. I kept the food coloring hid in a little cavity near the glazing area so I wouldn't be caught with it in my possession. A few more weeks went by without a hint that these guys even noticed the yellow water. One day as I dropped the food coloring in the picture of water, before it spread through the water and turned yellow (it comes out red), one of the glaziers happened to drop what he was doing all of the sudden and walked over to the water container and looked in. I thought for sure that I was caught........I still had the food coloring bottle in my hand and in the other I held the lid to the food coloring bottle. The glazier saw the red food coloring dissipating and spreading through the container and turning yellow. He yelled out "It's Happening!!!!" The other glazier and Gus the old guy came running. Moments later the office staff came running out of the office. The owner also came running to the back of the shop where the water container sat. Everyone was amazed, they had no explanation.......I was dying inside as I made my way out of the room. I don't think they even noticed me. It was better than I expected. When the room cleared out I came in and asked the glaziers what the commotion was all about. I sat there with a straight face and listened to the whole story. They didn't have a clue to what was going on. Later that week as I was tossing some trash in the dumpster I saw a coffee pot torn to pieces, laying in the bottom of the dumpster. I made my way to the glazing area to see if it was the same coffee pot that I put the food coloring in........It was! CRAP! OK, so I owed Gus one coffee pot. No big deal, it was worth it. I figured that I would keep the joke going and later cough up the money for the coffee pot when I was all done messing with the minds of Downey Glass and Shower Door. A few days later I showed up to work and noticed a bunch of people huddled in a circle near the back of the property. I went to see what was going on. It was the owner of the company, the glaziers, Gus and a Plummer.......Hummm?? They were scraping the inside of one of the outdoor faucets with a screw driver. I was a bit puzzled. I had a bad feeling and decided to ask what was going on. They looked at me like it was non of my business but told me that the pipes in the building had gone bad and the entire pluming system needed to be replaced because somehow it was turning the water yellow..................."Umm, hey guys.....HELLO! GUYS, ummm.....That was me, I did it" ..........I stood there and explained what I had done............ They all stood straight up, turned and looked at me..............Not a word..........They all stood there with a puzzled look on their faces for what seemed an eternity. Finally the boss walked away with out saying a thing, just shaking his head. The glaziers started laughing and giving me a look of approval.  "You owe me a coffee pot" said Gus.......From that day on every move I made was noted. I was one of the crew not the invisible clean up boy anymore...............e

6-19-07    Remember being in High School and life seemed so complicated? Just a few years earlier life was a breeze. Summer lasted for 3 months. There was no school, you could play all day long with your friends. Building ramps and seeing who could jump their Schwinn Stingray (before BMX bikes) the furthest. Thirteen feet was the record in our neighborhood and I owned it! Yeah I owned it until some new kid showed up one day. I saw him around the neighborhood  but didn't know too much about him. He didn't play in the city sports league. Almost every kid in town played in D.J.A.A. (Downey Junior Athletic Association). We played Football, Basketball and Baseball year round from second grade until  we started High School..........Anyway this kid, I can't remember his name, come over and changed the angle on the ramp, he made it steeper. The ramp was scientifically set up by the "Athletes" and this kid had no chance to break my World (neighborhood) Record. He was going to go to high and not get the distance. Besides he wore glasses..........He came around the corner peddling as fast as he could, the last 50 feet was a straight shot to the ramp. The ramp sat on the edge of driveway right at the gutter and shot you over the lawn towards the ivy. I had never seen someone peddle so fast while approaching the ramp. The kid showed no fear as he neared the face of the new angled ramp........Wow......The bottom of his wheels were higher than the lowest part of the roof, higher than we could have imagined someone jumping. When he landed his rear wheel came apart and he crashed into the ivy. He was OK, a little banged up but OK. He also held the New World Record, seventeen feet! Later that day I broke my bike then my moms bike trying to recapture the record. To my knowledge, he still owns the record. Yeah life was pretty simple as a kid growing up. High School was a little more complicated. I remember thinking that as soon as I was out of HS things would get better. But after HS there was a little more piled on, bills, girlfriends, jobs, car problems, traffic tickets, etc. But once I get on the Fire Department I would be on Easy Street, no more worries! No financial problems!......Oops.......As time goes on it seems like there is a little more piled on top. They are different problems but still the load keeps getting a little more top heavy. I am busier than I have ever been in my life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I chose this path but with each new thing comes a little more to pile on the top. So where I sit right now I have between 7 and 12 years left in my career with the Fire Department (if you are a betting man I would place your chips on 7) and I know that when the day comes that I hang up the turnout coat for the last time, all my worries will be gone..........Yeah right! ..................So here I sit in the worst shape of my life (19.9 on the Shape-O-Meter). I know this because I tried to play basketball the other day, the first time since my knee injury and had NO legs under me. The ball flew straight but came up short on almost every shot. That's OK because I will get my legs back soon. In fact I just started working with a personal trainer to get me into shape. Dennis Romero winning motos scares me too much to show up at an FPMX moto with jelly legs. Besides I will be fifty in two years and want to reacquaint my rear fender with Ernie Kopasz. I wonder, will life ever be like it was during those long summers when all you had to worry about was being home when the street lights came on?...........e

6-1-07    It seems like ever since I went back to work I have been running around like a head with it's chicken cut off! I've put in some overtime and thus have spent a lot of time in the station and hardly any time at home. And to top it off we have been really busy at work too with fires (more than usual). I have to make up for 7.5 months of crap. It's amazing how much we actually do over seven months and don't realize how things change. It's like going back to your old neighborhood and noticing how much the trees have grown. If you had never left you would never notice. EMT make up, CE hours, Physical fitness testing and "Boots" that got off probation and now have opinions. Yes the Department moved ahead without me and I am playing catch up. Then I decide to turn on the Shape-O-Meter and get a big surprise. I actually thought that I was in a little better shape than that. Holy Crap! I am nearing the 20th BSOML..........Being off work I had dropped about 20 lbs but being back to work I am stating to find those missing pounds. Without a bike in the garage and a reason to be in any type of shape (no motocross), I am going to have to make some drastic changes. I really can't wait to get back on the bike but actually I am not ready. I don't know why but I feel that I need more time off the bike to get physically ready. My right thigh cramped up last week while driving back from a structure. It was one of those motocross cramps that hit hard and kill! I suddenly got turrets syndrome and drove the last mile back to the station trying to stand up in the cab. The guy in the tiller box thought that I was messing around but those in the cab were able to witness it on my face. The right thigh needs a little more work. Ocotillo Wells will be my gym after the heat of the summer has past...........Rounds 5 & 6 are coming up in a week and a half. So far the pre-entry list reminds me of the Summer Series at Starwest last year. I hope many of you are just not taking advantage of the Pre-Entry savings and will signup on Monday morning........I wish I could say that I was looking forward to the race but being "Just" a promoter sucks. It is actually no fun at all. What I am looking forward to is seeing all my buddies. But not riding bites. I know that being off the bike for eight plus months is tough but then I remember MD101 was off the bike for 30 months (2.5 years) and he kept it together and make a great comeback. I'm just going to let it come to me and not push the situation. Plus KTMs cost more and it will take a little time to save the money..........e

5-19-07    I am back to work now. I was off for seven and a half months with this knee and went back for one shift, got burned out and need a break. Sue and I just got back from Lake Havasu, we were on the annual Wilson family vacation. Both of my YAMAHA WaveRunners had problems...........yamahas....$#*%. All in all it was a great time, very relaxing. No cell phone and no internet. About a day into it you just kind of melt into your beach chair and vege. The water was great, good temp and no wind to make it choppy. During the middle of the week we have the lake all to ourselves. Being a Master Mechanic (as far as the AMA knows), I was able to keep the boats running and we had a good time with them. What would the river be without mechanical problems anyway? For my entire life our family has gone to Lake Havasu and every time we (the men) spend hours standing around the stern of one of the boats working on something. I think if nothing broke we would break something just so we could continue this family ritual.......There are so many Supercross stories to tell. I will probably recap you guys every now and then......In Detroit Sue and I got a rental car with a GPS so when Erv Braun asked if I had directions to Trijicon I told him I didn't need them, I had the address and the GPS would guide us in. All was going well right up until the point where the Freeway we were on decided to turn into rubble......Detour......Holy crap we were in the depths of the Detroit ghetto and the GPS kept taking us in circles through some bad neighborhoods......Erv was getting a little nervous being a passenger in the eDub driven vehicle. Red lights looked green to me and I never stopped. U-Turns were common in heavy traffic. One way streets didn't exist. All I could think of was Ted Nugent saying "Detroit, the murder capitol of the world" on Double Live Gonzo". I haven't had a traffic ticket in 25 years (all thought I've been pulled over at least 25 times) and didn't care if I got one that day or 10, I just wanted out of where we were. Detour signs would take us through really bad neighborhoods and it felt like a setup. Finally I saw an Officer and I pulled him over! Right in the middle of a busy street we sat side by side blocking traffic. "Officer, I am an out of town Fireman and I'm lost, we need to get to Wixom" We sat there blocking traffic for 5 minutes as the Officer explained how to get out of the area and onto a freeway that wasn't under construction. We finally made it to Wixom, Michigan the home of Trijicon. Trijicon was a major sponsor of the Supercross effort this season. What a cool place, if you are into hunting or shooting thugs (even with rubber bullets) you should check into the Trijicon sights. Trijicon offers a 50% discount to FPMXers so take advantage of this great offer. Detroit is a cool city. Way better than I was expecting. At night live bands play outside of the bars. Sue and I were able to sit in our hotel and look South into Canada. That's right, Detroit is North of Canada.....Weird........The hotel we stayed in was a city in it's self with a mall, theater and many restaurants. Yeah Detroit City is the place to be, it was such a madhouse I could hardly get next to myself...........Oh and thank you to all the Officers who took pity on me and didn't write those traffic tickets..............e

5-9-07    Supercross is over for 2007 and it was a wonderful experience. I was able to attend every race. At times it was tough, especially once the East Coast swing started but I enjoyed the entire season. Four of the rounds are within an hour of the FPMX estate in Carlsbad, Ca. and three more are within close driving distance, Phoenix, San Francisco and Las Vegas. That is the easy part. I did most of the shopping and cooking for the team so being in foreign cities sometimes gets a little nerve racking while trying to locate places to get supplies. Next year will be way easier because of the experience of this season. Anaheim and San Diego are no brainers. A visit to COSTCO by the house and we are good to go. But some cities were a pain in the butt. Here is my report card on each city.

Anaheim:
Pits: Electric, decent location to stadium, lots of fans
Stadium: Nice stadium, poor Industry seating
Stadium location: Great, right in the middle of So Cal, many airports to chose from, John Wayne very close.
Food: Not bad, Carls Jr., Panda Express, Hot dogs and regular stadium food.
City: It’s Anaheim, grew up near by so no big deal.

Phoenix:
Pits: Bad location, no awnings, packed with fans, hard to get anywhere because of the crowds
Stadium: Awesome, retractable roof, pretty good Industry seating area
Stadium location: Down town Phoenix, nice area, hard to park anywhere
Food: Friday’s rules but hard to get into. Pizza, Mexican and stadium food
City: Uhh, ok. Bad sports teams.

San Francisco:
Pits: Outdoor, a little remote but nice. On the bay, wide open
Stadium: Very nice, Industry seating is pretty good
Stadium location: Sits on the bay, parking sucks, don’t bring a motor home.
Food: Garlic fries and huge burgers, air smells of garlic
City: Unique, fun to visit.

Houston:
Pits: Outdoor pits near stadium but not near stadium entrance, a bit of a walk.
Stadium: One of the nicest on the tour
Stadium location: opposite side of town from airport, near shopping areas and grocery stores
Food: good food upstairs. I don’t sit in the rider area for this race. Good seats above.
City: No reason to visit unless we are racing there.

San Diego:
Pits: Sloped and segregated. Outdoor. Gas cans have to be in cache . Have to push bike to fuel it. Wide open, good fan access
Stadium: Old but still ok, pretty good Industry seating but packed.
Stadium location: Freeway close, good eating places near by.
Food: Same old same old….hot dogs
City: Nice, great weather

Atlanta:
Pits: Awesome, Indoors and packed with fans.
Stadium: Nice basic stadium
Stadium location: Near downtown, nowhere to get food. No grocery stores in the entire city. Don’t eat at the Varsity
Food: basic
City: Probably won’t go there for anything but racing.

Daytona:
Pits: on the speedway track side by side for half a mile. Not bad but far from action, no industry seating. Horrible for watching from industry side. Stadium seats are way old but you can see the action
Stadium: Awesome just because of the history, actually sucks.
Stadium location: Right in the middle of Daytona bike week, busy with street bikers
Food: Did the Costco thing. Didn’t eat any of the stadium food so don’t know
City: Too many bikers. Spring break might be a reason to go (26 years ago).

Orlando:
Pits: Outdoors and near the stadium
Stadium: Old
Stadium location: Bad part of town. Don’t wonder too far from pits or stadium
Food: Pretty good BBQ’s going on in stadium
City: Bring money. Too many tourist traps but a nice place.

Indianapolis:
Pits: Closed pits, no fans allowed. Worst this year.
Stadium: Basic football dome, ok
Stadium location: Down town, nice area. Drive 10 miles for groceries.
Food: Basic stuff
City: Ok

St. Louis:
Pits: Indoors, much like Atlanta
Stadium: Nice near arch
Stadium location: Bad area of town once you get away from the stadium
Food: Basic
City: Don’t leave the stadium without a weapon

Dallas:
Pits: Outdoors, much like Anaheim without the electricity in the air
Stadium: Old
Stadium location: Freeway close
Food: Basic
City: Pretty nice, green

Detroit:
Pits: Closed, random placement around stadium
Stadium: Nice, next to Tiger stadium
Stadium location: Downtown
Food:  Tasty burgers but messy.
City: Way better than I expected. Could be a lot of fun. Gonna lose your mind in Detroit Rock City

Seattle:
Pits: The best, right at the entrance to the stadium
Stadium: Nice stadium
Stadium location: On the Sound, downtown Seattle
Food: I cooked, never ate stadium food
City: Freaks walking the streets, much like SF. Nice area, Smells like fish. Too many one way streets.

Las Vegas:
Pits: Awesome, fan filled, lot’s of room. A bit of a walk to the stadium.
Stadium: Old. Basic college football stadium
Stadium location: East of the strip. A little remote but ok. Lot’s of traffic back to town
Food: We had Hawaiian food for the Gonzalez family, never tried the stadium food.
City: I don’t remember anything that happened there.
 

5-2-07    This weekend is round 16 of the AMA Supercross Series, so far I have been to every round. Tomorrow morning Sue and I are driving the FPMX AMSOIL motor home up the 15 to Vegas for the final round. Tomorrow night we are going to see Marc Savard do his hypnotist show. We are going with Erv Braun and his better half, Winn. I am really tempted to try to be hypnotized but don't want to get injured on stage. Last time I attempted such a feat I kept falling to the floor. I have been released to go to work on May 7th. That's just in time to take several shifts off to go to the Lake Havasu on the annual family vacation. I am really looking forward to that break from work.......Actually I haven't been there since Sept 24th, 2006. My knee is feeling pretty good but I am going to take the summer off of the bike. I need to work for a while and give AFLAC a break. Plus I need to get some overtime in so I can afford a new bike. I am leaning Orange or Green right now. I think I'll do some Dual Sport and make my racing come back at the Christmas GP in the Ironman class. At least that is the plan right now........I have to tell you that I am glad that I won't be hitting the friendly skies for a while. I am dealing with my 4th cold of the year. Four colds in 5 months......I normally, maybe get one cold every three years so this killing me but I am pretty much over this cold. I guess I'll have to turn on the Shape-O-Meter next week. I'm not looking forward to seeing where I register on it. Oh well I need to pack for Vegas............e

4-25-07    I have to say that watching the 40-99 Intermediate class was a little difficult for me at Rounds 3 & 4.....I really don't know what is wrong with me other than I have MX+ Blood flowing through my veins. I will be going back to work next week after a lot of rehab on my right knee and all I can think of is racing. My plans have been to stay away from the track and get into some Dual Sport riding for a year or so and then make a comeback for the Fifty Plus class(s) but I don't know if I can take it. I should know better. A reasonable person would stay away from motocross, heck even motorcycles for a while or ever but........I CAN'T HELP MYSELF. I don't know if it's a good or bad thing but it's what it is. I never planned on being a motocrosser. Actually I figured that I would be a golfer in my old age but I don't even own a golf club. My dad has like 12 sets so I'm good to go if I ever get the itch to walk the links. I have come to realize that motocross has a direct effect on my happiness. When I don't ride I get bitter and life just isn't as good. The best word to describe life without motocross is "Miserable". I get into a funk when I don't get to ride. Oh I've been OK for the last several months while rehabbing but the better I feel physically the worse I feel motoically (new word). Now I have a huge decision to make.....KAWASAKI KXF 450 for moto or KTM 525 EXC for Dual Sport......You know what's kind of weird?.......The longer I stay away from motocross the faster I feel....I don't get it. But right now I feel like I could podium in my class but reality tells me that I have a long way to got to stay up with those guys. All I know is that I crave MX right now. I know that at rounds 5 & 6 I am going to go through withdrawals but I have decided to work for a while and get into better shape before I throw a leg over a new bike. You know what's weird is that today is the first day that I have really felt this since my injury. And not having a bike in the garage is freaking me out. I feel like that little kid growing up in Downey, CA collecting pop bottles and saving every penny to buy my first bike. It took me 2 years to save the money but at 10 years old I bought a 3HP Briggs and Stratton mini bike. Gas was .25 a gallon, I would ride that thing in my front yard until she ran out of fuel then push it to the Sunland Gas Station, fill 'er up and ride it home. At the time I never thought about it but the neighbors must have loved me. Thirty eight years latter and I still can't get enough.....e

4-11-07    The snowball effect is killing me. Last week I told you about Sue wanting the new camera and we ended up coming home with a surround sound receiver......Remember? Yeah well all was going fine, the instilation guy came by and hooked up all the wires. I know my limitations and wiring the system was beyond me. The system rocks. I highly recommend getting one. So now we have exposed wires running to the speakers. So I decide to put up some crown molding to cover the wires. Ok let's face it. I'm not a electronics guy and I'm not a finish carpenter. I'm a Fireman and a race promoter.....GOSH! So I've wasted the last two days putting up this crown molding.....Crown molding hangs on a 45* between the ceiling and the wall then you have inside and outside 45* angles in the corners. I'm doing this with 15 foot pieces by myself. The cuts have to be precise. I am so glad that I am doing this with white crown molding that I am going to paint instead of the oak that I wanted to use. I am so grateful for wall board compound. I am somewhat of an artist. So today was basically an art day filling in the gaps between the non precise cuts and wrong angles and crap work. By Friday my artistic abilities should overcome my lack of carpentry work and everything should look fine. It just takes so long for THICK wall board compound patches to dry enough to sand and mold into the shape of crown molding.........Which brings me to this saying....."If you want something done right and you are a loser carpenter, pay someone else to do it"........e

4-8-07    YZ Ernie is a source of entertainment for me. Here's the start of an IM session we just had........

4-6-07    I understand my wife making fun of YZ Ernie, he deserves it. But why take a shot at me? Actually I have come to realize that the sole function of  "Inside the FPMX" is to make fun of me. That's all good but I feel like I'm hog tied and being beat on with Billy clubs  by my friends who didn't pass the Fire test and became Police Officers. It's not worth fighting back with Sue, I will lose. All you married guys know what I'm talking about...........It's kind of weird to be at home today. Friday has been my travel day to the Supercrosses races for the last thirteen weekends. Actually it feels pretty nice to get a break. I was thinking about heading over to the airport later today just so I wouldn't go through withdrawals but decided to go to the movies instead and ask a couple of people if I could have one of them move over so I could sit in the seat between them and hold my elbows and knees in. I'll share popcorn with them. That should get it out of my system for the weekend.........We are just over a week out from Glen Helen, I'm doing OK knowing that I am just a promoter for that event but looking at the Pre-Entries for the 40+ Intermediate class kind of hurt. I'm sure watching that race will mess me up a little. I remember a few years ago watching my class race and feeling like I should be out there. The weird thing is that they look so slow and I know I can beat them all. But the reality of it all is I must look just as slow when I'm out there. I'm glad I can't watch myself race.............e

4-3-07    For those of you who have been around the FPMX for more than a couple of years you will probably remember the "Mullet Review" on FirePoliceMX.com. I received several emails from FPMXers, family members and people who I had no idea how they knew about the "Mullet Review" asking were it was. I started to feel bad about making fun of people so took it down. But I'm starting to re-think the "Mullet Review". I can't believe how many mullets are still out there. It's really fair game, they should know better. Last week in Dallas I sat down to watch to watch the mains behind a woman and low and behold a She-mullet. So I think I will start a new "Mullet Review" for your FirePoliceMX.com roaming pleasure................Yesterday Sue and I wandered into Best Buy, she wanted to check out some new Canon camera. The camera was out of stock so I figured that I just dodged a financial bullet. Not so, soon we found ourselves in the Audio room and Sue suggested that we get a surround sound system for the house. We've established that I like good movies so this wasn't such a bad idea. The system with installation was $1500.  Ouch, I like movies but do I like them $1500 worth? Soon I remembered a day a few years ago when I bought some new surround sound speakers from some guy for $100. He said that they weren't hot, I touched them, they felt cool so I bought them. So all we would need is the receiver. A few minutes later I told Sue that I could hang the speakers myself and save some money there. We got out of Best Buy for under $600. That included a guy from the Geek Squad coming over and hooking everything up.........Wow what a difference.....I'm watching "The greatest game ever played" as I write here in the FPMX Journal. It's like a whole new movie. Man I can't wait to watch Joe Dirt and Tombstone again. Maybe I should try Hope Floats with the surround sound.......No it would still be Hope Floats, the worst movie ever made.........Oh, Top Gun, yeah...................e

3-29-07    I like movies. So when Sue asked me to go to the movies today I said ok without hesitation. I also know that I need to spend time with my wife away from my now normal everyday life of FPMX and Supercross stuff. It's nice to turn off the cell phone and kick back with some popcorn, Milk Duds and a large Diet Coke every once in a while. I like to go to the theater during the middle of the day on a week day to avoid the crowds. I hate it when people talk during a movie, especially on a cell phone........If you have been reading the FPMX Journal for very long you will know that the worst movie ever made (imho) was Hope Floats. It's a given, everybody knows that. I am so glad that I didn't have any razor blades with me when I had to sit through that epic. I don't think that Sandra Bullock was the problem, I think the script just sucked. But after what I just went through today I might have to re-think why Hope Floats rated a 0 on the 1-10 scale. Yes today's blockbuster was another Sandra Bullock film called "Premonition". Save yourselves. Women please make sure that your husband don't have any sharp objects in their pockets if you chose to waste precious money on this piece of ......uh, Film. I can tell you that the theater had 27 rows, there were two exits up front on each side and there were Three lamps on each wall. There was seven other people in the theater, one mom's hair looked like a mullet from the back but wasn't a mullet. As you can see I was bored to death. I'm actually looking forward to the middle seat tomorrow morning on the way to Dallas. If I am sandwiched in between two fat guys with bad breath talking to each other it will be better than what I just went through. I like good movies......................e

3-26-07    Wow what a night, I got seven hours of sleep last night, that equals what I got over the prior three days. This morning my alarm went off at 7am, I had an appointment with my new physical therapist. We did a lot of stretching, lunges and balance exercises. It didn't seem like it was too hard but I did break a pretty good sweat. When I got home I decided to get on the internet before taking a shower. I was on the couch with my laptop for about an hour when I decided to get up and go up stairs. My legs were gone! I had to use the hand rail to get up the stairs. Sue was watching me and in a sarcastic voice said "Are You Kidding Me?" I have a ways to go still. Tonight things are a little better and I can go up and down the stairs fine but I can tell that my legs have been worked............Supercross is winding down a little and it's time to get ready for the FPMX Nationals in a few weeks. I am really looking forward to Glen Helen. It will be a nice change of pace to go hangout with everyone in the FPMX family. I will miss being out there banging bars with you guys. There's nothing like sitting on the starting line, looking to your left and seeing your buddies then looking to your right and seeing more buddies. Then turning your attention to Marco as he points to each rider to make sure you are ready for the start of the moto. As Marco reaches the end of the line on the far left side of the gate and starts to make his way to the box.....Oh man......clutch in, clicking into second gear, throttle rolling on.......anticipation.......waiting, inching forward, waiting.......come on..........come on.........GATE DROPS......Look to your left......nobody, look to your right......nobody.............yeah baby, HOLESHOT!...........e

3-23-07    Planes, trains and automobiles...........Uh, and rental cars. I am sitting in the lobby of the Radisson by the Indianapolis Airport right now waiting for Rich Eggett to get here. He was stranded in Cincinnati and had to take a cab from there to Indy. We can't check into the hotel room until Rich arrives. Hannig picked me up from the airport and dropped me off, his brother is in town and he is visiting him right now. There's some Cheerleader convention here and so it is really noisy in the lobby. On my connecting flight from San Diego I didn't recognize anyone from SX. I had the window seat. With all the flying that I have been doing I lost track of where I was going. I knew I was heading for Indy but didn't have a clue where my connecting flight was. It is usually Phoenix but we were in the air a long time. It was cloudy so I couldn't see anything on the ground. My ticket was folded around gum and thus tossed in the trash bag when the flight attendant came by collecting. I had been dosing off while listening to my ipod. We were in the air a long time and I knew it wasn't a direct flight......"Ummm lady sitting next to me in the middle seat, where are we flying to?" ....... I got the "Your kidding me" look......."Chicago" "O'Hare or Midway?" "O'Hare" "Thank you".............conversation over. It was a pretty good conversation though. She found out that I was an idiot and I found out that she thought that I was an idiot.......While waiting for my 32 minute flight to Indianapolis I bumped into Keith Johnson. Prior to that I was thinking that I was flying to Indy on the wrong weekend. I usually see a ton of SX people on these flights.......Freakin' more cheerleaders keep registering at the desk. It's loud in the lobby. We need mime cheerleaders. Anyway as I was sitting on the American Eagle Jet I looked up and saw "The Man" coming down the isle. I said hello, he said hello back. I knew that I was on the right plane now......I'm hungry, Hannig is at his brothers hotel, I was invited but declined to write this article. Rich is somewhere between Cinci and Indy in a cab confessing......Oh, just found out that it's a girls Volleyball convention. We need mime volleyball tournaments.....I'll let you know how things go here in Indy........Indy right?............yeah Indy.............e

3-22-07    I had my two days home and now it's back to Lindberg Field tomorrow AM to catch a plane to Indianapolis for Round 12 of the amp'd Supercross Series. On Wednesday I had my Doctors appointment. Everything is going good. Next week I start to work with a trainer to build the strength in my right leg. My ortho Doc was concerned that the S-O-M was turned off. He said that I need to get in the 12th BSOML. He was also concerned that YZ Ernie was in the 16.7th BSOHL. I assured him that YZ E would be ok, he was just getting back on the bike and it takes a while to get back to normal. Well not normal but back to where YZ E was before his injury.......Speaking of YZ E.......He writes a pretty good column, I like reading his stuff. Mark Davenport also has some interesting things to say but I've just about had it with that Sue chick. Every time I do something questionable she tells me that she's going to write about it on "Inside the FPMX". Luckily for me she hardly ever writes........or reads what I write. I actually had a new found respect for MD03, while he was off the bike for 30 months he continued to do his Diary. It's hard to find stuff to write about when you don't get to the track and put in some laps.........Yesterday my Ortho Doc asked me if I have been riding.........Uh, I wish.....but...NO. Not until I get back to work and put some time in there. Plus I don't even own a motorcycle, not a 50, not a vintage.....not nothing, no bikes at all......weird. I would even settle for a YAMAHA right now. I'm sorry that I am rambling on here and wasting your time but without throwing a leg over a bike for six months I kind of have nothing to talk about......Hey the dirt at Perris was awesome today. Glen Helen had some big ruts and the wind blew. Starwest changed a section, it took a while to learn it but I finally got it. There were some pros at the track. Rich Swisher looked really fast today...........OK, wow, I feel like I actually rode. It was nice talking about moto again.....My forearms are feeling it big time...........My flight leaves at 6:15 am.......Good night..........e

3-18-07    I want t go home. I have been home one day in the last three weeks. The last two weeks have been spent in Florida. Last night was the Orlando Supercross. The riders have been continuing to improve. All four KTM Lites riders made the night show. Carlos Gonzalez, Kevin Rookstool and Tyler Kalisiak  were all in the first heat with Eric Nye in the second heat. In heat one Kalisiak made a pass on Mike Alessi half way through the second lap, they both hit a triple together and made contact. Kalisiak went down hard and was ran over by 5 riders. It was hard to watch. I really believe the RXR Chest protector saved Tyler from serious trauma. Tyler ended up with a fractured tail bone. That is the word that I got last night. If I find out more I will let you know. There was nothing the following riders could do to avoid riding over Tyler. Carlos did a good job of avoiding his teammate and ended up going down too. In the LCQ Eric Nye settled into 4th place and Kevin Rookstook made his way to 5th but could not catch his teammate. Eric went to the main and got a 15th while Kevin earned the Gas Card ($250). The most improved rider of the week was Carlos Gonzalez. Who qualified 26th after not qualifying in the previous East Coast races. Each week Carlos has gotten closer. In Daytona he missed the night show by one spot qualifying 41st. Sue Missed the Daytona event but flew in on Tuesday for Orlando. We went to Disney World on Wednesday and visited the Magic Kingdom. It's a lot like Disneyland but not as good. First off.....No Matterhorn.......What gives? Then Main Street is much shorter with less shops and the Small World entrance is like walking into a building off some public sidewalk, unlike the much better California entrance to the Small World after all. It's a smaller Small World after all. The entire Disney World complex is beautiful and huge. It has it's own freeways. On my flight to Orlando I was a window seat guy on Jet Blue. I had my own TV........cool. It was a 5 hour flight but it only seemed like 5 hours (Most fights seem much longer than the actual time). I had a layover in New York at JFK, on my fight from NY to Orlando I had my own row, 3 TV's.....I didn't want that flight to end. That flight seemed too short. It was only 2.5 hours, seemed like just over an hour......I see more Jet Blue in my future..........It's been almost three weeks since I last wrote so I will try to remember some of the funny things that have gone on an write about them soon...............e

3-1-07    I just read Davenport's Diary. Mark mentioned how everyone asks him about the Supercross team. The Supercross thing is kind of a funny thing, funny as in weird, difficult, fun, frustrating, rewarding, sheer misery, challenging and much more. I enjoy it and at the same time wonder what the heck is going on. One thing about this season is that we have a great group of people on the team. I have attended the Motorcycle Trade Expo in Indianapolis for the last three years. This year was way different from the previous years. Everyone that I talked to was aware of the All American KTM / FirePoliceMX.com team. They knew who our riders were and how they were doing. And every company that I talked to was 100% more interested in the team than they were the last two years. They were aware of our amateur series and also the boys in Ohio and Indiana. Even people in other fields than motocross knew of our team and riders. It opened my eyes to a lot of things. First off, I have felt this for a while but Indy confirmed it. Our team, OUR team, you and every other Firefighter of Law Enforcement officer out there. Our team is very marketable. If I didn't believe that with all my heart I would give up on all of this. We have millions of built in fans. Our team is doing better this season, we are making main events. Tell me, are you guys pulling for Joe Oehlhof, Dennis Jonon, Anthony Charette, Dennis Ewing, Kevin Rookstool, Carlos Gonzalez, Tyler Kalisiak and Eric Nye? I hope you are. Why should you? Because they represent us, they represent you, Cops and Firemen around the world. Sponsors have got to eat that up. No other team out their has so many "Built in fans". These 'Built in fans" all have great jobs and spend a lot of money....................Duh!   It's a win win for the companies who support the All American KTM / FirePoliceMX.com Supercross team. I just want to thank the companies who are helping us get through the season.

2-27-07    I don't know what is going on, I just got my third cold over the last 4 months. I have narrowed it down to 3 things. (1) Going to therapy and laying on tables where others have been. Even though I see them clean the tables after every patient. I think that when people are screaming, face down in a pillow that the germs make it past the pillowcase into the pillow. Then with the new pillowcase, the next victim/patient inhales germs from the screamer before him and before her and before him. (2) Airplane travel. Being stuck in a tube at 32,000 feet for 4 hours with strangers breathing the same air, people sneezing, coughing, etc. (3) Not being able to ride a motorcycle because of a knee injury. I don't know what "3" has to do with a cold but I'm going to try to make it make sense somehow so I can justify getting back on a bike a little sooner than later....... My first cold of the series kicked my butt, it lasted two weeks and during that time Kleenex stock shot through the roof. The second cold was half of the first and wasn't a big deal, I'm hoping this one is just passing through like John Rambo was just passing through town before Will Teasle gave Rambo a lift out of town. Anyway I've just about had it with colds.........e

6-07    I have just about had enough of this flying crap. I figured out yesterday that when I travel with Sue I'm the middle seat guy. Even if my ticket says "Window" or "Isle" I get the middle seat. If I haven't said it before, and I think I have..........I HATE THE MIDDLE SEAT! Take yesterday for example. My ticket from Atlanta to Phoenix (3 hours 55 minute flight) says Row 15 A and Sue's says Row 15 B. Somehow I get B. The guy next to me somehow owned the rights to the arm rest. Every time he moved his arm I tried to get some real estate back but he had no problem with the arm touching arm thing. And he also had one leg in the isle and the other over my property line. So anyway it was a long flight. On the next leg from Phoenix to San Diego I sat next to a guy reading ALLURE magazine.......Come on. I was leaning away from that guy. I told Sue that we either sit in first class next season or we each get a window in different rows, I'm tired of the middle seat. I would do it this year but we have already bought the tickets for all the rounds. Live and learn.....I hate the middle seat.........e

2-20-07    Life is the perfect comedy, check this story out......Over the next couple of months I will be flying a lot to the EAST Coast SX races. I just figured that maybe I should get some practice in before it begins. Just before the Main Events at the San Diego SX, Brad Hannig and I headed to Lindberg field to catch a couple flights to Chicago and then Indianapolis for the Motorcycle Dealer Expo. I was on American Airlines and Brad was on Southwest. My plane was scheduled to depart at 11pm. I was in group 3 to board the plane, I saw this guy earlier with a Jack in the Box beanie on and long green hair hanging out of it. He was in group 3 also. I had a bad feeling that we would be neighbors. We were! He had the window seat and I had the isle in a two seat row. We were all boarded and full by 10:45 and left the gate early. We sat, waiting until 11:20, when we were told that the plane was over weight and we needed to take 8 people off the plane. So we go back to the gate and the 8 names were called to get off the plane. Two of the eight were in the row ahead of us. So the guy next to me with the Jack in the Box beanie and green hair asks me to let him out into the isle. He took the window seat in front of me......Score! So I slid over to the window seat happy as could be. It was going to be a long flight and I could use the room.....Then all of the sudden the pilot comes over the PA and says that the plane needs to be inspected because we taxied out over weight. A few minutes later the inspection was finished and we were ready to taxi out again.......WAIT! "I'm sorry, we are past curfew and will not be allowed to leave tonight but we will get you out tomorrow morning at 6:30" So we all got off the plane and stood in line for hotel vouchers. I'm only a half hour from home but figure that they need to put me up in a hotel. The line never moves. I was about 30 people back and the line hadn't budged in a half hour. "Ok, we decided to pay the fine, everyone back on the plane" So we were airborne by midnight. I took a little nap then looked up, the guy in the Jack in the Box beanie had switched beanies. Why do you need more than one beanie on a flight? After another hour long delay in Chicago I arrived in Indy and was like a zombie for the first day of the show. The show was good and we made a lot of good contacts over the two days that we were there. So back to the airport, Hannig on Southwest and I on Continental. Forty-five minute delay and we were in the air. Only problem was that I had an hour layover in Houston so time was going to be tight to get on the flight to San Diego. I got my 2 ounce Diet Coke with a full cup of ice. Two sips later I had a cup of ice on my little table hooked to the seat in front of me. No big deal, I had the window seat and didn't want to have to make a trip to the john anyway. Just before landing in Houston, I reached to turn off my ipod and tipped the ice water over, all of the water ended up on my crotch. Direct hit, looked like I peed my Levi's. It was a big spot about the size of a volleyball. The plane landed and I had to make a dash for the next plane through a crowded airport. I held my O'GIO back pack in front of my crotch and walked as fast as I could. I saw a bathroom and decided to do a pant change. The bathroom was full so I ducked into a stall with my two carry on bags. No room to change so I continued on my journey. I was one of the last to board the plane. My seat was in the last row and all the overhead bins were closed in the back so I had to put my O'GIO backpack and other carry on bag in the storage bins half way to the back exposing my wet crotch. Where was Billy Madison when I needed him? I had no choice but to walk fast with my hands open in front of the wet spot. My hands aren't that big. There was one seat left in the middle of the back row, everyone was looking at me. I didn't make eye contact. The guy in the isle seat stood up and I sat quickly sat and pulled the table out to cover my little accident........When Levi's get wet they don't hide the wet spot too good. The flight attendant wanted the table up before take off..........I was glad it was the second flight because I knew a lot of motorcycle industry people on the first flight. All I would need would be to have Donn snap a pic of that and put it in the "Add a caption" page of Transworld. I was probably the talk around the water coolers of San Diego today..........Next flight........Atlanta...........Hey look everybody, Billy peed his pants. Of course I peed my pants, everyone my age pees their pants. It's the coolest. Really? YES. You ain't cool, unless you pee your pants...............e

2-13-07   If you spend much time on the FPMX message board you probably have seen the phrase "Yeah I crack my self up too". That usually comes at the bottom of one of Mike "Walker" Dunn's posts (books). Yes Mike's fingers are long winded at times but it usually makes for some good reading with a little humor thrown in. I'm actually impressed that Mike has a computer, I imagine him on a manual typewriter for some reason. Anyway as I was working on the FPMX Action Figures page last night, I couldn't quit laughing. I laughed for over an hour straight. It was the most fun I have had in a while. I know someone might get offended and if so I'm sor..........no, get over it. You are only on that page because you matter to me and the FPMX. You are somewhat an FPMX celebrity (semi famous). Like Davenport, I too love the Glen Helen dog pic. I laughed at that for a while. Someone who isn't familiar with that dog might think that I made a mistake by putting a lion action figure picture up but those who know the animal understand.......Tomorrow is Valentines Day......I said that just to remind myself again. I once came home from work and forgot our anniversary. In the words of Julia Roberts in Pretty woman, "Big mistake, big, big mistake". So I sit on the brink of getting in trouble but I have a plan. I still have a few hours before "V" Day. Las Vegas has it at 3 to 5 that I will forget. I have researched the stores that I need to go to to stay out of trouble. I have a time picked out to accomplish the task at hand. Unless something goes really bad, everything should be ok and I will be able to sleep in the house tomorrow night...............Were going to be adding a new rider to the stable of "Lites" riders at the San Diego Supercross. Dennis Ewing will be on a KTM 250, switching from a HONDA. Dennis will be under the tent as a support rider and will finish out the West Coast series with the team. In a couple of weeks we will be heading to Atlanta with a whole new crop of "Lites" riders. Tyler Kalisiak, Carlos Gonzalez and Kevin Rookstool will be on All American KTM/ FirePoliceMX.com, O'NEAL KTM's with Eric Nye aboard a Canadian KTM as a support rider.............e out